Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers normally determine their position by computing relative times of arrival of signals transmitted simultaneously from a multiplicity of GPS (or NAVSTAR) satellites. These satellites transmit, as part of their message, both satellite positioning data as well as data on clock timing, so-called "ephemeris" data. The process of searching for and acquiring GPS signals, reading the ephemeris data for a multiplicity of satellites and computing the location of the receiver from this data is time consuming, often requiring several minutes. In many cases, this lengthy processing time is unacceptable and, furthermore, greatly limits battery life in miniaturized portable applications.
GPS receiving systems have two principal functions. The first is the computation of the pseudoranges to the various GPS satellites, and the second is the computation of the position of the receiver using these pseudoranges and satellite timing and ephemeris data. The pseudoranges are simply the time delays measured between the received signal from each satellite and a local clock. The satellite ephemeris and timing data is extracted from the GPS signal once it is acquired and tracked. As stated above, collecting this information normally takes a relatively long time (30 seconds to several minutes) and must be accomplished with a good received signal level in order to achieve low error rates.
Most GPS receivers utilize correlation methods to compute pseudoranges. These correlation methods are performed in real time, often with hardware correlators. GPS signals contain high rate repetitive signals called pseudorandom (PN) sequences. The codes available for civilian applications are called C/A (coarse/acquisition) codes, and have a binary phase-reversal rate, or "chipping" rate, of 1.023 MHz and a repetition period of 1023 chips for a code period of 1 millisecond. The code sequences belong to a family known as Gold codes, and each GPS satellite broadcasts a signal with a unique Gold code.
For a signal received from a given GPS satellite, following a downconversion process to baseband, a correlation receiver multiplies the received signal by a stored replica of the appropriate Gold code contained within its local memory, and then integrates, or lowpass filters, the product in order to obtain an indication of the presence of the signal. This process is termed a "correlation" operation. By sequentially adjusting the relative timing of this stored replica relative to the received signal, and observing the correlation output, the receiver can determine the time delay between the received signal and a local clock. The initial determination of the presence of such an output is termed "acquisition." Once acquisition occurs, the process enters the "tracking" phase in which the timing of the local reference is adjusted in small amounts in order to maintain a high correlation output. The correlation output during the tracking phase may be viewed as the GPS signal with the pseudorandom code removed, or, in common terminology, "despread." This signal is narrow band, with a bandwidth commensurate with a 50 bit per second binary phase shift keyed data signal which is superimposed on the GPS waveform.
The correlation acquisition process is very time consuming, especially if received signals are weak. To improve acquisition time, most GPS receivers utilize a multiplicity of correlators (up to 12 typically) which allows a parallel search for correlation peaks.
An alternative acquisition method, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,734, which is hereby incorporated by reference, provides higher sensitivity and higher processing speed by performing a large number of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) operations together with special pre-processing and post-processing operations. In this method, received data is frequency downconverted, digitized and then stored in a buffer memory. This data is then operated upon by a programmable digital signal processor which performs the above-mentioned FFT and other operations. In effect, these operations allow for the parallel implementation of a large number (thousands) of correlators. Furthermore, since the operations are performed on a single data set, or "block", they are not subject to the fluctuating signal levels and changing nature of the signal environment common to correlator approaches.
Although the above method provides for rapid acquisition and high sensitivity, it is still necessary to perform the acquisition operations on signals received from several in-view satellites, and for various integration time periods and Doppler offset frequencies. Such multiple operations add considerable time to the acquisition process, especially if these variables are not optimized for a particular acquisition operation.
It is therefore an intended advantage of the present invention to provide a method of adaptively receiving and processing GPS signals by initially performing a block processing operation for optimized parameters such as satellite number, integration period, and Doppler frequency offset.